Ray Lathon, (October 27, 1966, in St. Louis, Missouri – December 12, 2000, in St. Louis) was an American boxer.

Amateur career

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Known as "Lethal", Lathon was a stellar amateur and, in 1989, he was the U.S. Amateur Middleweight champion and won the Golden Gloves and USA Boxing titles. He also fought as part of Team USA at the World Championships in Moscow.

Professional career

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Lathon turned professional in 1990, and suffered his only professional defeat to Montell Griffin in 1994. Lathon's career record is a 22-1 with 21 knockouts overall.

Murder

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On December 12, 2000, after finishing a workout in a St. Louis gym,[1] Lathon was shot and killed execution-style by a masked gunman.[2] Lathon had been in training for an upcoming attempt at the NABF Cruiserweight title. Ahmad Adisa, age 27, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.[3] At his trial, evidence suggested that Adisa was hired to kill Lathon for a $10,000 payment, though no one else has been charged in the case. Assistant Circuit Attorney Dwight Warren told jurors that Lathon was killed in retaliation for his suspected involvement in the kidnapping and torture of a drug dealer in 1999. Authorities said the drug dealer was beaten and burned with cigarettes, but Lathon was never charged.

Professional boxing record

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23 Wins (21 knockouts, 2 decisions), 1 Loss (1 decision)[4]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 7-15   Rodney McSwain UD 8 10/10/2000   The Spotlight, Saint Louis, Missouri
Win 27-16-1   Reggie Miller KO 2 08/02/2000   The Spotlight, Saint Louis, Missouri Miller knocked out at 2:59 of the second round.
Win 1-4   Kevin Robertson TKO 1 07/12/1999   The Spotlight, Saint Louis, Missouri Referee stopped the bout at 1:11 of the first round.
Win 14-6   Onebo Maxime KO 1 25/06/1999   Station Casino, Saint Louis, Missouri WBB World Cruiserweight Title. Maxime knocked out at 1:32 of the first round.
Win 11-76-1   Rocky Bentley TKO 1 04/05/1999   The Ambassador, Saint Louis, Missouri Referee stopped the bout at 2:15 of the first round.
Win 7-13   Tracy Barrios KO 3 26/01/1999   UAW Hall, Saint Louis, Missouri Barrios knocked out at 3:00 of the third round.
Win 15-28-1   Harry "Heatwave" Daniels KO 1 17/11/1998   UAW Hall, Saint Louis, Missouri Daniels knocked out at 2:35 of the first round.
Win 23-8-2   Booker T Word KO 2 15/09/1998   UAW Hall, Saint Louis, Missouri Word knocked out at 1:43 of the second round.
Win 2-14   Earl Abernathy TKO 1 23/01/1997   The Ambassador, Saint Louis, Missouri Referee stopped the bout at 2:37 of the first round.
Loss 13-0   Montell Griffin UD 12 12/09/1994   Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California
Win 10-10-2   Jesus Castaneda KO 4 13/06/1994   Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Castaneda knocked out at 2:56 of the fourth round.
Win 12-19   Tim Knight PTS 6 12/02/1994   America's Center, Saint Louis, Missouri
Win -- Gino Galliano KO 1 24/01/1994   Saint Louis, Missouri
Win 4-15   Donnie Penelton KO 1 15/05/1993   Eagles Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Win 5-1   Ed Kelly TKO 1 02/03/1993   Foxwoods, Mashantucket, Connecticut
Win 2-19-1   John "Rocky Young" Williams KO 1 28/08/1992   Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 5-11-1   Jeff Bowman KO 4 04/05/1992   Bill Harris Arena, Mobile, Alabama
Win -- Ken Chisholm KO 1 03/04/1992   Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 4-5   Anthony Williams KO 5 04/10/1991   Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 5-4-1   Shawn Jewell KO 3 11/05/1991   Portland, Oregon
Win 0-5   Jessie Wade KO 1 25/04/1991   Shriner's Auditorium, Mobile, Alabama
Win 0-4   Bruce Stallworth KO 1 21/09/1990   Clarion Hotel, Saint Louis, Missouri
Win 2-4   William Knorr TKO 1 28/07/1990   Trump Castle, Atlantic City, New Jersey Referee stopped the bout at 2:37 of the first round.
Win 0-1   Jeff Summers KO 1 16/02/1990   Clarion Hotel, Saint Louis, Missouri

References

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